Social services

Tender description

Cardiff Council in partnership with Vale of Glamorgan Council wish to commission a family group conferencing (FGC) service for children, young people and their families who are residents of Cardiff or the Vale of Glamorgan. Cardiff Council in partnership with Vale of Glamorgan Council wish to commission a family group conferencing (FGC) service for children, young people and their families who are residents of Cardiff or the Vale of Glamorgan. The service is a grant funded initiative for 2 years with an option to extend for a further year depending on successful funding passed on by The Welsh Government grant allocations. The FGC is a unique service in that it is a decision making meeting in which a child’s wider family and extended network come together to make a plan about the future arrangements for the child. This plan will ensure that the child is safe and their well-being is promoted. The FGC service helps children to be able to stay with their existing family or extended family members and without the need to remove them from the child’s family, friends and community. This is a more positive and less disruptive outcome for the child or young person. The FGC process is intended to be a respectful and empowering process, in which parents, children and members of the wider family and other connected persons are given clear information about the agency’s concerns and are asked to produce a plan that addresses these concerns and answers specific queries. The expectation is that the family’s plan will be agreed by the referring agency if it adequately addresses the concerns which the agency has identified and is safe for the child. The Councils want to commission a provider to deliver the following aims and objectives: Aim: to embed the family group conference approach within children’s services in both councils. Objective 1: to put in place a FGC process across both councils children’s services. Objective 2: to facilitate FGCs across both councils. Objective 3: to ensure there is a sustainable model beyond the life of this contract.